Wanted
by Lolitaxlolita
Summary: Kirk disobeys direct orders from Starfleet command, and he has to face the consequences. The question is, which side will Spock choose?


"Phaser banks?" Kirk barked.

"Fully charged, Keptin."

"Photon torpedoes?"

"Ready for firing, sir."

"Good." Kirk was tense, on the edge of his seat, staring at the viewscreen. It was a small planet, out in the middle of nowhere, really. Population: 300,000 people. That was it.

But they were people, nonetheless. Whether it was three or three million, it was his job to protect them. They were called Linis, and the planet was Lin. They were humanoid, but little else was known about them other than the fact that they were an agricultural, pre-industrial society. They didn't know that the _Enterprise_ was there, watching over them, orbiting their planet.

The probably didn't know that a battle was about to take place over their heads.

Kirk shifted his gaze from the peaceful planet to the six Klingon battle cruisers that hovered on the port and starboard bows of the _Enterprise_. Their intention: destroy the planet.

And Kirk's intention was to stop them, or die trying.

And considering that they were facing off against six battle cruisers, outmanned and outgunned, that was highly likely.

Why were they about to destroy the planet? From what Kirk had gathered, the Kilingons had developed a revolutionary new mining technology, which allowed them to filter precious ore from space debris. The problem was, that debris had to be created first.

Lin had one of the highest known concentrations of dilithium in the galaxy. In fact, under the soil, the planet was almost completely composed of the stuff. All the Klingons had to do was destroy the planet, implement the new device, collect the dilithium, and leave. Instant profit. No pesky indigenous people to deal with, no tedious mining equipment, no labor crews. No need to beam down to the planet, no need to leave the comfort of the ship.

Perfect.

Except for one thing. The _Enterprise_ had just happened to have been in the area and was now drawn into the situation. Kirk couldn't just stand by and allow people to be killed, cultures destroyed. It was his job to defend those who couldn't defend themselves.

"Stand by to fire phasers, Mr. Chekov."

"Aye, sir."

"Klingon ships moving into attack position," Spock reported from his station.

Kirk had opened his mouth to give the order to fire when Uhura swiveled in her chair.

"Captain, communication from Starfleet Command. It's …Priority One, sir."

Kirk sighed. "Well, this is a fine time for it," he muttered as he brought the communication up onscreen. The face that appeared was that of Admiral Komack, a man that Kirk couldn't really say he liked. There was a coldness to him that Kirk had never been able to get through.

"Captain James Kirk," Komack began. "You are ordered by Starfleet Command to cease and desist engaging the Klingons at Lin immediately. You will leave the area and remain at least four hundred light years from the planet, where you will be given a new assignment. You are to erase any and all mention of Klingons and Lin from your logs and memory banks. You are to forget about this incident and discuss it with no one. Destroy this communication and implement your orders upon receipt." And on that ominous note, the transmission ended.

Kirk just sat there a moment in shock.

"Sir?" Sulu said finally. The crew had never known their captain to be so stunned by something. "What should we do?"

They all sat in silence for a moment.

Then, against his better judgment, Kirk made a decision. He didn't like it, but he knew his crew, and he knew himself. And he knew what he would and would not do.

"Lock on phasers, Mr. Chekov."

And he would not allow an entire planet to be destroyed. Damn the consequences.

"Aye, sir. Phasers locked."

Kirk took a deep breath. "Fire."

A battle ensued. Sufficient to say, through some creative modifications of the warp engines made by Scotty and some daring maneuvers made by Mr. Sulu, they somehow managed to disable the Klingon ships.

As Kirk watched the ships limp off into the darkness of space, he finally had time to contemplate what he had done. He had directly defied an order from Starfleet Command. He had saved an entire planet that Starfleet, for whatever reason, had singled out for annihilation. It could have been crucial that these people die, and he had meddled with fate by saving them.

But he didn't regret it one bit.

His only worry was his crew. He didn't want them to get into trouble for simply following his orders.

He stood. "Mr. Spock, you have the con."

He left the bridge, for the last time.

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Down in the shuttle bay, he quickly prepped a shuttle for take off. He would leave the _Enterprise _and head for Starbase II, where he would be transferred to Starfleet Command Headquarters to face his court martial.

Why not stay on the _Enterprise_?

He would have liked to. Loved to. But no matter how much he loved his ship…he loved the crew in it even more. And leaving, acting like a renegade, was the best way to divert the blame away from the crew. It was the best way to emphasize that his actions were his own, not theirs. That he had given them no opportunity to refuse. It was for the best.

He was in the cockpit, hurriedly flipping switches, when he heard a step behind him. He turned in his seat.

"You're here to stop me?" he asked Spock, turning back to the control panel.

There was a moment of silence.

"No."

Kirk turned back to him in surprise.

Spock gave that funny little Vulcan shrug. "I know that I would not be successful in changing your mind."

He came around Kirk's seat, settling himself into the copilot's seat and completing the standard lift-off procedure.

"What are you doing?" Kirk asked in astonishment.

Spock merely quirked an eyebrow, and replied: "I am coming with you."

Kirk shook his head emphatically. "No. This is my thing, I have to do this alone. I can't drag you into it."

Spock gave a small sigh. He turned in his seat to face Kirk and leveled him with an intense, soul-piercing gaze.

"Jim. What your destiny is, only you know. But my destiny is to remain with you, by your side. I am coming with you," He repeated. The way he said it made it clear that there was no room for argument. He was going, and there was nothing Kirk could do to stop him.

But he found, upon reflection, that he didn't really want to.

When they were out in space, Spock began inputting coordinates for Starbase II.

Kirk reached over and stopped Spock from finishing them. "Wait," he said.

Spock looked at him questioningly.

"We're _already_ in trouble," Kirk explained. "Let's just . . . take advantage of all this free time and. . . take a vacation."

"A vacation."

"Right."

"You are serious."

"Yeah."

Spock stared at Kirk for a moment. Then he reached over and input new coordinates.

"As you wish," he said softly.

_Well, _Kirk thought, _now we're _really_ outlaws. _

He glanced over at Spock's strange, beautiful, angular silhouette, barely lit by the starlight coming through the observation window.

_But at least we're outlaws together. _


End file.
